London Stalling: Why the U.K. Relies on the City to Keep the Country Afloat

Photograph by Anastasia Taylor-Lind for TIME

Under siege The Royal Exchange stands at the center of London's beleaguered financial district

The four young British men, all employed in London's financial center, laid out the rules for their upcoming vacation in Dubai, where they planned to watch a rugby tournament. "Cheating [on girlfriends] is allowed," read their e-mailed compact, which was quickly passed around by employees at top financial and law firms in early February before finding its way to the British press. "Chants about ... how rich we are," the gone — viral e-mail insisted, were "compulsory." And as for group sex acts, cameras were permitted — "for evidential purposes." When the contents of the private e-mail and the identities of...

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